Family of woman who drowned on Rogue sues

The family of a 52-year-old California woman who drowned while kayaking down the Rogue River is suing the company that she hired as a guide, seeking $4 million.

The suit claims that Echo River Trips is at fault for guiding Cynthia Lee Von Tungeln down Class 4 rapids during the unusually high flow because of rapid melting of the snowpack last June 27.

According to the suit, the Irvine, Calif., woman was in a two-person, inflatable kayak traveling down the river from Grave Creek to Foster Bar. As she rode through the Rouge River Blossom Bar Rapids, the kayak struck rocks and flipped, trapping her underwater. Von Tungeln and her kayaking partner had no experience maneuvering a kayak through comparable rapids, and the suit claims that the company knew or should have known that.

Echo River Trips is also known as The Wilderness Company, and its principal place of business is Hood River, according to the suit. The suit was filed earlier this week in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Last summer, four other people died after swimming or boating the Rogue River - including two people other than Von Tungeln at the Blossom Bar Rapids.